Peregrine flying high as CMO biz preps to open new mAb facility

Avid Bioservices' expansion will double existing capacity to service both a $40m backlog and its owner Peregrine, which is hoping to commercialise its breast cancer candidate.

Peregrine Pharmaceuticals saw revenues grow 20% y-o-y, mostly due to its contract manufacturing subsidiary Avid Biosciences which reported total sales of $27m (€25m) for the fiscal year 2015.

During a conference call discussing these results Tuesday, management said there was a committed backlog of $40m from existing customers, much of which will be carried out at a new mammalian cell culture facility in California set to come online in the next few months.

“Last December​, we laid out strategic plans to expand our manufacturing capacity to help support the revenue growth of Avid,”​ said CFO Paul Lytle. “I am excited to say that the new facility is close to being ready for production​.

“The core manufacturing suite has been built, the equipment has been installed, and it is now undergoing some final testing to ensure all systems are operating effectively,”​ he told investors. “We remain on track to commence production in this new facility in the very near future.”​

While the investment will service its customers, the facility has also been built in preparation of a commercial launch of Peregrine’s own lead candidate bavituximab a monoclonal antibody (mAb) for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), a Phase III trial blinded, randomized trial of which is on track to end enrolment by the end of the year.

The new facility was described as a “pivotal event”​ in the growth of Avid and potential commercialization of bavituximab by CEO Steve King during the call, who added there would be “a nice mix”​ between in-house and customer utilization.